N. Tewari et al (Organic Process Research & Development 2007, 11, 773-775) describes the synthesis of meropenem from intermediates 2 and 3 without the isolation of intermediate 4. The catalyst used for the conversion of intermediate 4 to meropenem 1 is 5% Pd/C.

Carbapenem precursors and carbapenem products can be problematic to work with in hydrogenation reactions using Pd/C or Pt/C catalysts as the sulfur-containing side chain may act as a catalyst poison. Alternatively or in addition, the carbapenem products may be unstable. Accordingly, there remains a need to provide an improved process for the preparation of carbapenems, such as meropenem.
There remains a need to provide a process for the preparation of a carbapenemcarbapenem which overcomes the limitations in the prior art.